You came to get a bird of some sort, indifferent to whether it be pheasant, pigeon, or vulture. Although he questions the fact that you care not the type of fowl, you assure him that you are simply not a picky eater.

The portly middle-aged man laughs. He informs you of an especially mean lynx that he killed in the forest. He tells you he hasn’t cleaned it yet, but you insist on buying it anyway. He sells it to you, for slightly more than the potion you sold earlier today. You also buy some herbs from him, as his garden is doing better than yours this season. You make it home with the large cat in the bag, and prepare the pentagram. It can wait for a while, as you go downstairs to eat. You eat a sandwich and reflect on your day. You have discovered a dark secret, become a necromancer, defiled a grave, and purchased a ‘pet’. Soon you will be able to revive it, and have something to help you. You weigh the possible companions you could have gotten, and might get in the future. A bird could scout things for you. A large cat or something like it could kill your enemies. You consider a human companion, like the thing from page 1. You force the idea from your mind. One step at a time. Also, you remember your nephew. Will he not question a lynx following you around? Does he exist? If not, how will you explain the lack of a visit to the butcher?

Why tell the butcher anything at all? No, if there is a nephew, murder him, stage a bandit raid, tear up your clothes and rough up your house and go straight to whatever passes for a police force around here. Tell them that robbers attacked your nephew.

You realize you have no nephew, and make up an excuse just in case. You head upstairs, and begin the ritual. You use a needle and thread to sew up an arrow-wound in the creature’s side. You burn herbs, and read the incantation as well as you can. The creature stands up, and a toad leaps from it’s mouth. It walks in a circle around the pentagram, leaving bloody footprints. It walks back into the middle, and lays down to rest. The footprints catch fire momentarily, leaving burns in the shape of a cloven hoof all over your attic. The lynx will now follow your every command, but it has to have certain accommodations to live. You dread the thought of what the old man left living in your basement. For now, the lynx is yours. It sits in your attic, until you need it. The sun has set, and you ned to sleep. It has been a tiring day.In the morning, you have a choice to make. Will you spend this bright new day doing necromancy? What if someone comes to your door? The birds are out again. You could go hunting, mix potions, or study any subject. Perhaps you should relax today, to recover your energy.

You go upstairs, to see that the lynx has left. It will come back, you tell yourself. You eat breakfast and light your pipe. No herbs are banned in the kingdom. You smoke some tobacco, and browse the books. Your knowledge of these arts is growing with every minute you stay in your attic. Sadly, this is cut short by a handful of villagers coming by for ‘medicine’. Your position here is sustainable, but you are thinking about the long-term. This place doesn’t have enough bodies. Being in the wilderness, you can get plenty of wild animals. The only problem is that pet traders never come by. You’ll never get anything exotic here. There aren’t many domesticated animals around other than the farm ones. Your options are limited, and you might become suspected. After reading a bit more, you find a few simple remedies that actually work. You might even be able to start making an honest business of this. One is a simple extract of willow bark, which could help relieve pain. You jot a few innocent medical facts in a blank black notebook. A random gust of wind slams your shutters open. As you quickly spin to slam them back closed, you see that a raven is staring at you from a lamp-post outside. It is perfectly still, and stares directly through your window. Villagers who are outside don’t seem to have noticed. You shut your shutters again, and lock them. Paranoia? Or is the mysterious man here to reclaim his book? You need to mix a few potions. Will you try to create this willow-based cure?

Though you’ve made a living thus far as a con artist and don’t care in the slightest whether your customers really get better: they’re more likely to come again if they discover that your cure actually works, maybe they’ll even spread the word — you make the decision that a working remedy won’t hurt, and willow bark isn’t exactly an expensive commodity.

Though you’ve made a living thus far as a con artist and don’t care in the slightest whether your customers really get better: they’re more likely to come again if they discover that your cure actually works, maybe they’ll even spread the word — you make the decision that a working remedy won’t hurt, and willow bark isn’t exactly an expensive commodity.

And even if it fails we can sell the result as a more expensive potion to cover our losses! Profit no matter what!

You head out into the forest, gathering herbs. You find a willow tree and scrape off some bark. Back at your home, you manage to concentrate it into a small vial. You decide to charge extra for it. After this, you get back to the books. Later, a villager comes by and you tell him about it. He says he can’t afford it, and gets the usual mix of berries. Later, another comes by and buys it for her knee. You eagerly await the news of your new pain medication. You read more on the different things you could make with necromancy. Would you really try to reanimate a corpse to do your bidding? If so, what would you make it do?

Hey, do you like games? So do we — that’s what makes Kongregate the best source of free games online. We have thousands upon thousands of free online games, from both one-man indies and large studios, rated and filtered so you can play the best of the best. Read more »